Psalm 31 ~ O Lord, let me not be put to shame for I call upon You

Psalm 31

English Standard Version, Max McLean Audio Bible

1 In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me!
2 Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily!
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me!

3 For you are my rock and my fortress;
and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me;
4 you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

6 I hate [You hate] those who pay regard to worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.
7 I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,
because you have seen my affliction;
you have known the distress of my soul,
8 and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
you have set my feet in a broad place.

9 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;
my eye is wasted from grief;
my soul and my body also.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
and my bones waste away.

11 Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach,
especially to my neighbors,
and an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I have been forgotten like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
13 For I hear the whispering of many—
terror on every side!—
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.

14 But I trust in you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hand;
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
16 Make your face shine on your servant;
save me in your steadfast love!
17 O Lord, let me not be put to shame,
for I call upon you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
let them go silently to Sheol.
18 Let the lying lips be mute,
which speak insolently against the righteous
in pride and contempt.

19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you
and worked for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of the children of mankind!
20 In the cover of your presence you hide them
from the plots of men;
you store them in your shelter
from the strife of tongues.

21 Blessed be the Lord,
for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
when I was in a besieged city.
22 I had said in my alarm [in my haste]
“I am cut off from your sight.”
But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy
when I cried to you for help.

23 Love the Lord, all you his saints!
The Lord preserves the faithful
but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord!


Elizabeth Taylor died Wednesday. She had a quote I rather liked. "I don't entirely approve of some of the things I have done, or am, or have been. But I'm me. God knows, I'm me."

Very few people will get out of this life without experiencing some kind of trouble. In my life I've had an alcoholic grandparent and parent. A Dad who was a great parent - who sang, played and read stories. A Dad who was an alcoholic and turned our safe, perfect life into heart-break and poverty in an alcoholic decline & probably to avoid feeling a mid-life crisis. My Dad made choices I wouldn't have made for him for about 15 years, he ended his own life.

Life can be difficult - it can be easy and rewarding - it's better and worse to see both ends of it. I've been blessed in my marriage to have soul deep love. Blessed in my marriage to know a late in life pregnancy, ending in the birth of our 2 pound beautiful daughter Isabelle - stillborn -, wouldn't end our love, marriage or friendship. Our eldest son was a preemie and we spent a year with Cal on an apnea monitor wondering if one day he would just pass on; Talk about stress.

You hate those who pay regard to worthless idols. Let's talk about a particular idol - taking our own pain, hurt and becoming our own best idol. If I have a regret, it is not having the wisdom to know trouble mostly goes away. (And sometimes it doesn't. Some people will always have financial troubles, some people will always have a child who died, some people will deal with an illness or a child with a handicap.) I would have spent less time being so worried about my own problems that I was my own challenge. I sometimes see myself in young people, average people who have had sad circumstances overcoming adversity with a lot of self love, who want to think and talk about themselves until it is boring. There is some shame there.

When we look at this Psalm, the word 'I" is written 15 times in 24 verses. Not to mention "me" and "my" is in there at least a multitude of times. Why didn't God lift His celestial robe up to His strong knees and run for His Heavenly Temple? Angels would have helped Him run faster..... We have all known people who have permanently changed from trouble and from success to becoming this amazingly self-centered.

There are some excellent reasons this Psalm was pleasing to Father God. So pleasing, He let it be recorded for 3,000 years of generations to read this. 1. It is a cry from the heart, and Father God is our Father. Parents listen with love to unhappiness. 2. David trusts His Father. He doesn't believe God has brought Him this far to drop him on his head. 3. David may be crying from his heart to God, but God knows David is going to live in caves for His sake. Live as an outlaw for His sake. David is going to live life and its hardships while loving God and believing in His goodness. 4. David has an honest relationship with God. David is going to tell the Lord when he is wrong and face up to sin. And remorse. David believes the biggest disaster in his life would be to be cut off from his Father God. 5. David is not looking for alcohol, drugs, friends, job and or comfort to take the place of his current situation in life. David does not make other things more important that knowing God - where he puts his hope. 6. David walks the walk of the Lord.


Ecclesiastes 3:11-13
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 7:14
When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.

Jeremiah 17:7-8
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
8 He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Father God in You and in Your Grace, we are not asked to suffer shame. In Your steadfast love, we don't have disgrace or humiliation. You put our sins away from us. Forgiveness covers a multitude of wrong-doings. You forget the shame of our youth, the reproach of poverty, grief, sadness and need.

You are the Sovereign Lord who swallows up death forever. You want to wipe tears from all faces, remove the disgrace from Your people from all the earth. You have spoken.

Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. In righteousness we will be established: Tyranny will be far from us; we will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near us.

Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the LORD has done great things!!! Amen, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

<><

Luke 10 ~ Rejoice that your names are written in Heaven!

Artistic representation of the Book of Life - the Holy Spirit is represented by fire and doves.



Luke 10

Max McLean Audio Bible, English Standard Version

1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.

16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” 17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii [A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”


If we look at: the 72 disciples, unrepentant groups (cities here), the good Samaritan, Mary & Martha and the gracious will of God - we are looking at Jesus' work every day. Before we had time and far into eternity - this is what Jesus does. Salvation is the essential key of Jesus' life and sacrifice. Salvation - the summation of all 5 subjects in Luke 10.

We learn there are blessings for trying to bring blessings to others. We learn about consequences for unbelief (even in groups supporting each other's beliefs/unbelief) from Jesus Christ's own words. We learn there is a spiritual battle of good and evil - even though we know of it - we are not to focus on it. We learn the crafty, religious lawyer with his neighbor (and not "brother") question and the good (but hated) Samaritan, Mary and Martha - All have access to God merely by asking Him, regardless of sulk or goodness.

A vital message is this - even 72 disciples don't bring salvation by their own efforts - not even our prayers saves souls. Salvation is a gift of God.... we love God because He Loved us first. Prophets and Kings have longed for salvation. Salvation is a work of God.


Ephesians 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--

Romans 9:16
It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.

.... and all the questions we have for God, the doubts of Thomas - met with such Grace. And if we sincerely seek Him and honor Him for asking us to act with holiness....

John 4:10
Jesus answered, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

Father God we thank You eternally (!), because You have given us Your Word to read, to receive. Your Words give life. The Word of God at work - living and active. Just as Jesus told us in John 5:17 ~ "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." Your word Is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Father God, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, be pleasing to You as I walk Your path and Your plan for my life. Send forth Your Word, on this I will rest. Send forth Your light and it will illuminate my dark corners, I ask in the Grace of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.


<><

Mark 12:28-34 ~ love Him with all your heart

Gethsemane By Adam Abram

Mark 12:28-34

Audio Bible Max McLean, English Standard Version


28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

~ love Him with all your heart

My college years, in the early 1980s, were wonderful. "The early 80's," said Senator Trent Lott, Senate Majority Leader, "were a shining era of light." When asked to explain Sen. Lott said his kids were in college then, he visited them & saw college young men and women as well dressed, interested in the American system, behaving well, and believing in the American dream of hard work and playing by the rules. And ya know, I gotta agree. We graduated, jobs were hard to find there was a recession, stores I'd gone to all my life were closing and we still all believed it would be okay. Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, the news about him was almost always amusing & Margaret Thatcher. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. I still look back on the 80's as challenging and rewarding - plus, big bonus here- the people I knew graduating from college in the 90's all said the best music was from the 80's.

Who is going to look back at these 10 years of (what do we call them? the zeros?) 2000 and say wow. With great certainty the financial situation and the wars lead to this gloom. Where did this gloom come from... quitting. Why all this quitting... me, me, me, me, me, me, me. I saw it today on the Rick Warren Facebook, people commenting they love the gospels, but don't like the New Testament. Like the gospels, but don't like the Old Testament. Have you heard someone say, I liked my Church until.... reason (my feelings were neglected).... I liked my friend until... (their feelings mattered more than courtesy). I liked my actual neighbor until.... (they put themselves in some way before me).

How can we like this passage? It requires belief there is Something Greater than ourselves. In my opinion the news is angry, the politics are angry, the neighborhoods are too busy(angry), because we (including me) are all so taken up with pushing ourselves forward, for the brief span of our adult lives, life now has bigger problems than from 20 years ago.

Well this commentary was awful today, I don't feel better now. Wait! How can we see hope? How can we see a better tomorrow? Love Him with all your heart. Decide not to quit Church, decide not to quit your friend, decide not quit your neighbor. How? It is just justified, it is just rude.

Love Him with all your heart. The first step is to hang in there. Trust Him, He cares, He is there for you. The second step is to not return evil for evil. Love covers all. Keep trying, keep nurturing someone. Love Him with all your heart. Is your cup looking empty? Thank Him for the blessings in life you'd miss if they were gone tomorrow. Love Him with all your heart. Don't quit. Do you hear someone complain about how down the times are? Remind them God is faithful. Care for them. Pray, keep on praying. You are not far from the kingdom of God.

<><

(Reprint from Scripture for Today Blogspot Friday, February 19, 2010)

2 Kings 21 ~ walk in the way of the Lord

Two Assyrian kings leave records of political dealings with King Mannaseh. Esarhaddon and his son, Ashurbanipa. c 668 BC. The records leave evidence of the Chronicles account of King Mannaseh.



2 Kings 21

David Cochran Audio Bible, English Standard Version

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8 And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.


10 And the Lord said by his servants the prophets, 11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, 12 therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster [evil] that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, 15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.”

16 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned in his place.

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done. 21 He walked in all the way in which his father walked and served the idols that his father served and worshiped them. 22 He abandoned the Lord, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord. 23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him and put the king to death in his house. 24 But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. 25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 26 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son reigned in his place.


It's amazing how one generation is different from the next. I read an article from a FB friend saying a daughter of a Christian family had been raised in the Church, her parents sent her to a Bible College - she said due to the culture Christian kids have the same problems as non-christian. She said it was merely good luck she discovered she was in love with Jesus Christ in college because she always believed God was good idea, but most of the time in their busy lives, she believed Church activities were a social obligation. Her father was always so busy with his career, they never sat down and told her of the amazing Love Father God is.

Hezekiah, Eli, Samuel - all have children who were looking at a different Path. My grandmother Anita taught a Methodist Sunday School adult class for 42 years. Her adopted son, who was damaged at birth, was so violently opposed to Christianity - he wouldn't hush if the subject came up and go into a high pitched, on going rant. I frequently left the building if he started. He fairly hummed with anger. My grandmother said she would not stop praying for him. When my uncle was 78 years old, he discovered he enjoyed Joel Osteen on television. One day he heard about the book by Rick Warren, "The Purpose Driven Life." It's very difficult to be handicapped and adopted from an era in history when adoption was considered shameful. My grandparents were actually my uncle's 2nd adoption in his 3rd year of life & they were always quite loving to him. The first adoption went horribly badly - my uncle was burned and beaten.

Reading "The Purpose Driven Life" gave my uncle the hope he was part of God's plan. He had finally arrived at a teachable moment in his life. He no longer rants, talking incessantly. He no longer hums with anger. Jesus Christ has saved his life. God called my uncle's name in the Book of Life. My mom and I cried. My mom said she knows there is a party in Heaven and my grandmother is dancing.

Always pray.

You'd think Hezekiah would have prayed for his son Manasseh.... Hezekiah knew well that Jehovah was a jealous God. We had an excellent discussion in my minister's Sunday School class on God's jealousy. There is a famous celebrity who said she wanted to be part of God until she heard He said He is a jealous God. It sounds rather like the husband who kills the lover, when he discovers sharing his wife's affections. We try so hard to make God like us. God wants to set us apart - to be holy. Like He is. When we do not seek to grow spiritually in Christ, we are likely to wander.

What is Baal worship? Mostly it is sacrificing a child to please Baal who in turn provides prosperity. God expects us to be new creatures in Jesus Christ, to be set apart from what the would accepts as acceptable behavior. He Really doesn't want us to participate in the the body of Christ, open up our 'horrorscope' and play Biblical numbers decoding wisdom. Nope. God never wanted His Church to be like a wisdom cult enabling one to participate more fully when further initiated. God never wanted us to rejoice we are just a little lower than the heavenly beings - to take that Grace and then abuse it with Voodoo or the occult because we might get the attention of a lower god or spirit. God says He is always available to hear us when we call on Him, humbly, and admit we are His people, His creation and we do not save ourselves from our sins.

So.... doesn't it seem like a King, a righteous man, like Hezekiah would have prayed diligently for his son Manasseh? Perhaps Hezekiah did. Although Kings does not record Manasseh's conversion - we are told to read Chronicles. Manassah did repent - he did cry out to God for help - Manassah was saved. Really. Chronicles says so. And I believe it - I believe God's Word is the Way, the Truth and the Life opening our souls to Love the LORD for giving us His Word. And I believe God hears us when we call to Him with open hearts. I love the Lord, my Father God, because He Loved me first.

Father God, in the book of Acts You tell us "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household" and in You will I hope and pray. You have given us baptism, to receive Your Holy Spirit only because Jesus Christ died to save sinners. You live in me, actively since I believed in You.

Father God, You raised Jesus to life, raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because in Your Word it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him. Jesus is Lord.

You've told us always to pray with hope. I will continue to pray for others that Your Love and Your Hope will fill lives with Your Light. Thank You for calling to my uncle, for writing his name in Your Book of Life. Thank You for telling us of Hezekiah's son.

Father, speak the Word, sanctify us through and through. May our whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.


<><

Numbers 21:4-9 ~ bronze serpent

Cross on Mount Nebo - where Moses was buried by God. Incorporates bronze serpent, pillar of fire, and Jesus' cross. Created by Giovanni Fantoni. The Washington Post said this site was pinpointed for a terrorist activity in 2000 by Osama Bin Laden.
Israelites leaving Egypt, painted by David Roberts. The Dutch National Museum contains a Papyrus called the Ipuwer Papyrus, an Egyptian eyewitness papyrus confirming Biblical descriptions.

Area of Saudi Arabia believed to be route of the Exodus.
Mt. Sinai - even today would be difficult to survive in this area. Much less camp with the 603,550 Children of Israel.


Numbers 21:4-9

Max McLean Audio Bible, English Standard Version

4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.”

So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

When you look up ancient medicine, you hear of remote remedies - mostly suffer through it and die. Sure, in archaeology we find terracotta idols placed with the dead and in fragments. Why would the Children of Israel have placed this statue (13th century BC) in safe keeping & held on to it all of those years, if it had been ineffectual? The end of the bronze serpent was c. 715 BC during the reign of the 14th King of Judah, Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the King who listened to Isaiah (Isaiah's 4th King he advised). Today, we can still see Hezekiah's tunnels he built for water - Hezekiah is also famous for relying upon God to keep the Assyrian nation from invading. During Hezekiah's time, the people named the statue Nehushtan while making offerings to it.

Hezekiah's Tunnels today still exist and people follow them in tours. Historically it is still astonishing the Assyrian Nation did not war against, or conquer, Judah during the reign of Hezekiah.

Archaeology would also say Hezekiah's destruction of the bronze serpent would show a turning point from man's images of idol worship - healing. So I read for today's Scripture passage. Scientists say the most unusual things - you are trying to tell me in 715 BC man gave up on idols healing them. I don't think so. 715 BC was still a heavily polytheistic time.

How did people raised in the Temple of Jerusalem think about this item of historical Scripture in about 50 AD? Paul was raised in the Temple around the very tools, created in the Exodus, by people Moses put together to build them, returned by the King of the Persian Empire. Paul tells us:


1 Corinthians 10
1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes.

So how would we relate to a bronze serpent Scripture today? In the same way we relate to the Church in Corinth. We have evidence in all of our lives, God has brought us blessings. Paul relates his blessings - we can relate to - as the First Letter to the Corinthians begins; thanks to God for health, a safe journey, deliverance from danger, & good fortune. A safe journey can also mean God has brought us this far - not to drop us on our heads.

How often we feel when we are in distress - The Lord has forgotten - or it's not important to Him. So many of the things the apostles faced in our Churches exist today. So many problems we face in our beliefs, what the world teaches us, are the same questions facing the apostles - they left us a road map. We would say we are not hungry, in a desert, and being bitten by snakes. I would say we are ... a very hungry world - spiritually - with Google being kept busy looking to see if this is the end of the world. When not in distress, we see endless debates over big Christian publications. Questions, questions. We have a road map - letters written for you. About God. He wants to know You to know Him. He loves you.

Father God, we are grumblers, complainers. Thank You for Your compassion in listening to our prayers. The whole earth is Yours, yet You have placed man just a little lower than the heavenly beings and crown mankind with Your glory and honor, in Your steadfast love.

You are the LORD our God, who brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. We worship You and ask Your blessing on our food and water. You have said You will take away sickness from among us. We look to You in expectation and longing for the fulfillment of Your promise of forgiveness of sin and restoration in Your perfect healing. In the highest name of Love You have given us, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.


2 Corinthians 13
Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

¹² Greet one another with a holy kiss. ¹³ All God’s people here send their greetings.

¹⁴ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

<><

~ they went on from there and passed through Galilee

Les Disciples by artist Euguene Burnand depicts the disciples Peter and ... Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection



Mark 9:30-41

Max McLean Audio Bible, English Standard Version

30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, [who does not follow us] and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.



Jesus has returned from the mountaintop, acclaimed in Glory by His Father and enjoying fellowship with Moses, Elijah, Peter, James and John. Surely Jesus would like to rest, have a meal, a celebration. Jesus pressed on, teaching them along the way. Breaking up a quarrel as they arrive - imagine having the disciples discussing who is greatest after the Transfiguration has occurred - unknown to 9 of them. Human judgement must often sound silly to the LORD, even from the men sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Lets look at the parallel of Jesus' life the day after the Transfiguration occurred.

Philippians 3
Max McLean Audio Bible, English Standard Version

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Obviously, Jesus would have more confidence in all things than Paul, being the Son of God -

Jesus pressed on, in righteousness from God that depends on faith, to the suffering and to the power of His resurrection.

Isn't it amazing Jesus did press on instead of calling a Press Conference of Joy. Or even a Disciple Conference.

Did Jesus rest on the celebration of God's Glorious Acclamation in the Transfiguration - no, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.

The upward call of God in Jesus dealing with the disciples arguing over glory - maturely expressing the truth He has to give. Does Jesus tell them they are like dogs fighting over a bone for power? No, He gives them an analogy of a childlike faith and belief, but tells them not to be so eager to rush in the condemnation of others in the result of works.

Jesus did not say to the disciples to join the works of one who does not follow Christ, just not to be so eager to condemn. The Holy Spirit in both passages urges us to observe the workings of the Spiritual, to be led by Christ in upward growth - to imitate Christ. Both passages urge Love and Growth. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. In order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.


What Jesus is telling us, in Light of God's Glory of His Perfection is this - something I heard repeated several times at Church this week - "we are not perfect, we are a work in process." A child of God seeking to imitate the Love of Jesus Christ. Like Peter, going back and forth in faith - before Jesus died - and after. Paul going forward in faith and breaking fellowship with Barnabas and John Mark or arguing with Peter. God using difficulties to raise up Timothy, to strengthen and redirect ministries - God in all our phases, using us for His good purpose. Alleluia!

Father God, in You, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Father God, strengthen feeble hands and weak knees, help us run in such a way as to get the prize -to spread the Love of Jesus Christ.

Father God, we are fully known to You. Jesus knew the heart of mankind - selfish, self-serving and yet You chose to live among us being salvation, grace and truth. We are a poor reflection of Your mirror; please forgive us for our sins in the mercy of Jesus Christ. Just as You did for Your early Church, let our imperfection disappear and Your perfection come in Great Glory. We ask for Your help, each day. To You be all the Glory and Honor. To the Only One Who is Good. Jesus Christ. Amen.

<><

Genesis 12:1-4 ~ I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

Genesis 12:1-4

Max McLean Audio Bible, English Standard Version


1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

For most of us reading this passage, we are part of Abraham's blessing, but the Lord is not going to make a great nation from us. Right now I'm working on my cousin's Estate, there were 12 children in the early 1900s and it comes to 34 descendants, not a nation. Perhaps one of us will have children and progeny that will become a nation. It's vital to look at the Scriptures and be fed from them, not to just remember the good old days of Biblical history.

How will we apply this Scripture to our lives? We are called to grow up, in maturity to the LORD.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

People who aren't listening to the Lord themselves, would look at this passage and say Abram was ready to move away from Haran. Spiritually, Abraham was being called to be the soul God intended him to be. God didn't send a pack of people with him, cheering him on. God moved him out of polytheism and into obedience to the Lord.

God's blessings are always of interest to us, let's look at them: children, children's children, honorable reputation and greatness come from God. And very importantly - Gratitude. And:

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Genesis 48:15-16
15 And he [Jacob/Israel] blessed Joseph and said,

“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
and in them let my name be carried on,
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

Jacob's special blessing on Joseph's children is the one Jacob considers to be the best blessing. He tells us he has witnessed God as his protector, the helper, the Holy Spirit. A redeemer from all evil - in himself and in others. Jacob expects God's blessings to be carried on in the generations to come.

It is important to remember Jacob/Israel is a blessings thief. Wrestling even God for a blessing.

Jacob had real tragedy in being outcast from his family at his dad's death (his own behavior), being cheated by his employer and family, the death of Rachel & in the years (learning how it feels to be the one cheated) they were not married. Jacob's married life created a lot of unhappiness (for all the people involved!!), his children developed poorly leading up to the disappearance of Joseph - a lie carried out by all of his sons. Reuben slept with his concubine/wife. Jacob ends up leaving the promised lands from severe famine - the Promised Land, being settled in Gishon where the Egyptians as a nation hate shepherds.

Yet Jacob says, not tragedy, he sees the blessings of God. Jacob didn't live life on the Good Ship Lolly-pop, but wrestled with God to see the blessings.

Isn't it great - a blessing - how in the die-young, ancient world - God uses the flawed heroes of the Bible to point out they didn't get right and didn't get it right, yet opportunity is ahead with repentance, hope and faith. These are the patriarchs, because they always see God as part of the path, refusing to feel abandoned to trouble- the events of life.

So how do our Biblical patriarchs do with God's blessing? Abraham lied to a Pharaoh and later a king about his marital status and then allowed his wife to enter their harem. Abram separated from Lot over material needs. Abraham's faith wavered for God to complete His promise. He had a child out of wedlock and failed to care for the child's mother. Abraham failed to treat his second wife kindly. Scriptures are vague on how well he treated the children from that union. Jacob had similar issues - still both men were counted as righteous - for their faith in the Lord. God isn't looking for perfect people, but repentance and affirmation of lack of self-righteousness. Admission of sin and a trust in God to help.

God's blessing was not just material, but for the Lord to save them from their sins. Their flaws. Misfortune happened to both men, but both considered themselves blessed.

Psalm 146:8
The LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.

Praise be to You God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and our God of all comfort. You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary. Praise be to You, O Lord God.

As a mother comforts her child, so You comfort me, Father God. You are the comfort of Israel. Please Father God, give endurance, encouragement and a spirit of unity among the body of Christ.

In Your great mercy You have given me new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Thank You for Your listening with compassion and empathy to my prayers.

Praise be to You, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Thank You God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!



<><

Psalm 130 ~ O Lord

Psalm 130

Max McLean Audio Bible, English Standard Version

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
2 O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.


The Scriptures are filled with things "thou shall not" do. No, they are far and away more filled with hope. When we think of the Books of the Bible dwelling on hope, they're: Ruth, Ezra, Proverbs, Isaiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Hosea, Micah, Zechariah, Philemon.

Hope is heavily emphasized in : Job, Psalms, Jeremiah, Acts, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians and Hebrews.

Hope has a good emphasis in: Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Titus, 1 Peter and all in the later books of John.

Hope isn't mentioned in Revelation at all, all the promises are fulfilled in God's Holy Kingdom.

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

When we think of hope, it can seem a weak bet. The people of hope relied upon, most heavily, in Scriptures are: Job, David, Jeremiah, the 12 Apostles and Paul. These are not the lightweights of the Lord. Refreshing to all of the soul, knowing God Almighty honors hope.

Forgiveness holds all of our hope. There is no greater blessing than forgiveness. Great blessings are held in honor and cherished. Not taken lightly. David did not. Let's pray his words, breathed out by the Holy Scripture.

Father God, Please answer us in the day of trouble!
May Your Holy Name protect us!
Please send Your help from the sanctuary
and give us Your support from Zion!
May You remember all Your offerings
and regard with favor Your burnt sacrifices! Selah

May You grant our heart's desire
and fulfill all our plans!
May we shout for joy over Your salvation,
and in the name of our God set up Your banners!
May You fulfill all your petitions!

We ask in the Highest name of Jesus. Amen.

<><

Psalm 73 ~ until I went into the sanctuary of God

Psalm 73

Max McLean Audio Bible, English Standard Version

Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them [the waters of a full cup are drained by them].
11 And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.

18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.

23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength [rock] of my heart and my portion forever.

27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.

My bottom front tooth broke in half today. I was eating refried beans. Repairmen - at my house today. Trips to the hardware store. Solutions not working. Lists made for more repairs and more trips to more stores. All with a jagged snaggle tooth. More needed tooth work. By evening I was contemplating the cool, calm collected people I'd seen all day long. Sure seems like some people have an easier, more fun life. Well. C'est le guerre. You can never be too rich or too thin. Until you are the thin one or you are the rich one, compared to someone else. Funny how all we strive to achieve - & it doesn't always make us more lovable in the eyes of others and sometimes doesn't make us more loving.

We were speaking about unemployment the other day. A man laughed and asked if faith is sitting by the phone, watching TV and waiting for the phone to ring. And one of these random thoughts at the other spectrum was a story in my cousin Maxine's bathroom, she framed. It is about walking past a man sitting in a chair raking leaves, how he was so lazy and the observer was filled with contempt. As the walk took the observer past the raking man again, to find his crutches were leaning against the chair.

For the days Father God, when my life seems to be a jack hammer of thoughts. When I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task.




Luther College Nordic Choir singing "O Lord God" in Leipzig, Germany. Wouldn't this be wonderful for Evening Prayer.

Evening Prayer, by Jean Francois Millet


We all have different crutches and different levels of faith. I love when our minister says to put your hands out and ask God for opportunity and blessing. It's in His time and within His plan. Let us make the most of our day, each day.

With God, we always have a great opportunity..... look UP!

Father God, how wonderful to be able to move past wearisome thoughts. To think of You, the Eternal. The Glory of God. Your storehouse of blessings does not run empty. Give us eyes of gratitude to see the blessings.

Psalm 84
Max McLean Audio Bible, English Standard Version

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.

8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!

10 For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Father God, One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life. Realizing those who believe in You begin Eternity! By confessing we are sinners. Believing in our heart, You've given us Your Son, Jesus for our salvation. Eternity begins now, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand - to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek You in this life, in this body, where the Holy Spirit dwells.

Father God, I pray for the people of Japan, open Your storehouses of blessings. Father God, remember Jeremy, protect, guide and lift him. We pray for our military stationed in Japan. Amen.

<><

John 2:23-3:15 ~ believe in His name

John 2:23-3:15

Max McLean Audio Bible, English Standard Version

23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.


3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit born from above; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both again and from above; also verse 7]. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You [you is plural here] must be born again.’ 8 The wind [the same Greek word means both wind and spirit] blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you [plural] do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man [who is in heaven] . 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.


What is the Good News? God knew what is in man's heart.... And He chose to be flesh and dwell among us, full of grace and truth. And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.


The intersection of the cross is Spirit meeting Physical, the outcome an outpouring of Grace. Forgiveness.

Jesus, son of God, has one man Nicodemus come to him at night - away from the crowds. Part of the ruling class at God's Temple. Jesus did not turn Nicodemus away - Jesus didn't even sigh at a long day. Jesus didn't ask us to be mature Christians who were intellectually stimulating - to make interesting theological conversation for Him.

What did Nicodemus expect from telling Jesus, "“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him” ? Nicodemus came deliberately at night to seek away forward with a Rabbi (teacher) the Temple was growing rapidly to mistrust and fear. Nicodemus probably rehearsed what to say for the audacity, rudeness and the honor of appearing to Jesus. Nicodemus - as well as Spiritual guidance- might have told himself if the man preens at these words - then Jesus seeks fame. If Jesus goes into a long teaching message, perhaps Jesus needs to be a teacher of the law. Maybe, just maybe, Nicodemus was helping Jesus find a more workable career path - to make the way easier for Jesus and for the Temple. Even if Nicodemus arrived at night, he was a good man (we see by his actions to Jesus' body and being excluded from the night trial of the Lord), working towards peace and finding a Savior.

Jesus continued to say:

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and (remember Nicodemus came to seek Jesus at night, away from the crowds) people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Did Jesus stick around Jerusalem to see if Nicodemus was going to approve of their late night talk? Jesus needed no one to bear witness about man :

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing.

What is Jesus telling Nicodemus? Jesus was already doing what He was born to do. To speak with God, the conversation goes like the wind of the Spirit. Nicodemus is not going to outmaneuver Jesus. Jesus says, Nicodemus, there needs to be a time in life we point to where we turn to things of the Holy Spirit and we can see ourselves g-ROW as a Spiritual being.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Nicodemus came to hear, but also to withhold the honor of a visit - to seek "knowledge" about a teacher. Would Nicodemus really have come at night if he truly believed Jesus was sent by God? If so, it was not the way the Temple would have taught Nicodemus to treat things of God, more like Caesar's coin for Temple politics. Jesus didn't break the bruised reed, but instead kindled the flame in Nicodemus.

1 Corinthians 13:
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

Jesus, ruler of all things made, lived this passage of Love to Nicodemus. It isn't what you know, it's how you care.

Father God! In You - we live and move and have our being! You are the Lord God Almighty, making the world and everything in it. You do not live in temples built by hands. not served by human hands. Because You give all life and breath. Your Spirit gives life.

Life in abundance to You is us putting ourselves in attitudes of holiness, but realizing we don't have to be anything but comfortable with You.

We are the sheep of Your pasture. You determine the times set for us and the exact places where we should live. Father God we seek You. You are not far from each one of us. In each season of our lives, let us be workers for Your will. Let us be swept up in Your Wind. Give us grateful hearts to praise the blessings You give us. Give us willing minds to be disciplined in Your ways. Give us and let us be a kind word and encouragement for those following Your path today and the wisdom ready knowing You know the path of those around us better than we do. As Jesus taught Nicodemus and kindled his spirit into flame, help us to do that in Your ways, speaking the truth in love.

Jesus. The LORD saves! Amen.

<><